BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center is changing the way inmates receive mail in an attempt to prevent contraband from being smuggled into the facility and streamline the current procedure.
“This is a crucial step forward in our ongoing efforts to improve the safety, security and efficiency of MDC operations,” MDC Warden Kai Smith wrote in a news release.. “By reducing the flow of physical mail and literature, we’re limiting opportunities for illicit materials to make their way into the facility while still ensuring that inmates have access to important personal and legal correspondence, as well as written literature.”
The new mail system will replace hand-delivered mail with scanned digital copies accessible via a tablet. The scanning is performed off-site by a third-party service. MDC staff then review the document for any violations of the inmate mail policy.
However, legal mail, internal education materials and other approved documents will continue to be delivered physically, MDC said.
The new system will also change the way inmates can access written materials such as books. Previously, hard copies of these items were delivered via mail services. Starting on July 18, MDC will no longer accept physical copies of books, magazines and other written literature. Inmates will be able to access that material through a digital library available on the tablets.
MDC said the digital mail transition to occur on July 19, however, some inmates have already received mail via the tablets.
The facility has also increased the number of tablets to 1,000 allowing one tablet per a cell, at an approximate ratio of one tablet for every two inmates.
The new address for sending inmate mail should be in the following format:
Bernalillo County Metro Detention, NM
Inmate Name, MID #
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131
For more information, visit MDC’s webpage here.
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